China accuses US of cyberattacks after alleged NSA hack

"In a Sunday WeChat post, the Ministry of State Security (MSS) said it uncovered "irrefutable evidence" that the US National Security Agency (NSA) exploited a security flaw in a foreign mobile phone brand's messaging service to hijack phones and steal sensitive data belonging to China's National Time Service Center employees beginning in late March 2022, according to a Google translation of the Chinese-language statement."

"China's intelligence service also alleged that, in April 2023, the NSA used stolen credentials to break into the Time Service Center's computers and snoop around on its networks. It accused the American spy agency of deploying a "cyber warfare platform" and activating "42 specialized cyberattack weapons to launch a high-intensity cyberattack against multiple internal NTSC network systems" between August 2023 and June 2024."

"China has blamed the US for a "major cyberattack" against its National Time Service Center, alleging it could have disrupted the country's communications, financial, and transportation networks, and even caused power outages. "The NSA also attempted to penetrate the high-precision ground-based timing system, potentially disabling it," according to the MSS, which added that Beijing's national security authorities ultimately thwarted the attack."

China's Ministry of State Security said it uncovered evidence that the U.S. National Security Agency exploited a foreign mobile messaging service flaw to hijack phones and steal sensitive data from National Time Service Center employees beginning in late March 2022. The MSS alleged that in April 2023 the NSA used stolen credentials to access the center's computers and later deployed a cyber warfare platform that activated 42 specialized cyberattack tools against internal NTSC systems between August 2023 and June 2024. The MSS said the NSA attempted to penetrate the high-precision ground-based timing system, which could have disabled timing services and disrupted communications, finance, transportation, and power. Beijing's authorities said they thwarted the attack.

Read at Theregister